A New Force
by Carrie A. Way
Summary: A girl named Aria was watching Teen Titans with her little brother one day when she finds herself inside the show. Will she ever find a way home? And if she does, will she go?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

She sat there; not knowing that what was about to happen was going to change her life. The dark eyed, blond hair girl was baby-sitting her little brother and every time she babysat him, he HAD to watch Teen Titans. Aria could stand the show but would rather watch something with real action, not some cartoon. All that cartoons were to her were a few lines on paper.

"When there's trouble you know who to call," sang Aria's brother Stuart.

"It's just a cartoon Stuart. Look, it's a commercial now, go get ready for bed and put your PJs on."

"Ok, but I'm gonna wear my Robin PJs! He's my hero!" said Stuart enthusiastically.

"You need a real hero, like Michael Phelps, not some made up cartoon."

"Robin IS real!" yelled Stuart, "And I'm gonna be just like him some day!"

Stuart stormed off to his room and slammed the door. Aria knew he would be out soon to watch the show. She sat back down on the couch just as the show came back on. There was a little green guy that her brother called Beast Boy watching TV and slurping a soda. _What's so great about this show! _Aria thought_ The only thing going on is a little green martin man watching a show about a wild fire! How great is that! _

"This is BS. Show me something real," said Aria out loud.

She had the remote in her hand and was getting ready to change the channel when a mist began to spiral out of the TV. Aria was curious and got a little closer. The misty spiral began to get bigger and soon it was the size of the whole TV! Aria was always one for adventure and got a little closer. Then it got VERY windy in the room and the mist wrapped around her. It began to suck her toward the TV! Aria grabbed onto the couch but the pull was too strong and broke her free. She got a good grip on a nearby counter and held on. She looked at the TV and noticed something very strange, her legs were inside the TV and she had become a cartoon! She shook her head in disbelief and blamed it on some bad pizza. The wind in the room picked up and she lost her grip. Her body was sucked into the TV, but she grabbed hold of the TV before her head went in too. Now she was panicking and screamed for her brother, but before the words could escape her mouth, she was sucked fully into the TV.

00000

"Aria? Aria, where are you?" A scared little boy looked for his sister. The room was a mess and things were flipped over. The couch had claw marks in it and a counter had been broken. Papers, books and movies lied everywhere, but there was no sign of his sister.

00000

"AHHHHHHHH!" yelled Aria as she fell out of the TV and landed on the floor. She lay there for a few, long seconds, scared to open her eyes, frightened of what she might see. She finally found the courage to open her eyes and peaked one eye open. It was true! She had been transported into a cartoon! She looked at her hands and noticed that she too had been turned into a cartoon! As she stared at her hands, a piece of her hair fell down into her face. It was no longer blond! It was now a dark blackish, purple color! She grabbed her hair and messaged it in shock. She looked at her reflection in the huge, expansive windows. _At least my eyes are still brown and everything else is the same…sorta. _As she looked at herself in the mirror, she noticed someone else in the background. She turned around with a start and saw the green boy named Beast Boy starring at her with a blank face. He had dropped his soda and him and Aria were frozen there, staring at each other.

"Uhhhh…who are you?" asked Beast Boy finally.

"Um, I'm Aria. I'm sorry I'm in your house. I'll leave."

"And go where! Dude, you just fell out of the TV!"

"Yeah…I don't know how to go back in either," said Aria.

Just then, the door opened and a boy in green tights and a cape came walking in.

"Beat Boy, we need you for prac…tice. Um, who's that?"

"Listen to this! I was watching the Discovery channel. Well, I was gonna watch Captain Commando but the show got switched to a later time, so I tried to find something else but all that's on TV are Presidential debates. So I flipped channels for what seemed like a year when I came across THIS! It's all about fire and I thought it might give me some cool ideas to try jumping through fire hoops on your motorcy…I mean on a moped. Then she fell out of the TV!" Beast Boy said in a way so fast that not even Mas Y Menos could follow what he had said.

"I asked for her name, not your life story Beast Boy," the dark haired kid turned to Aria and said, "Hi, I'm Robin, and you are?"

"Aria." She answered timidly.

"You don't need to be afraid, we won't hurt you," coaxed Robin.

"I'm not afraid, it's just…" Aria searched for the right words, "that back home you are all…not real. You're cartoons where I'm from and you're a show that my little brother watches. I have no idea how I got here and no idea on how I'm gonna get home."

"Sooo…your from another dimension then?" asked Robin

"I guess…"

The door opened and three more people came in. There was a guy who was half man, half robot, a girl in a purple cloak and a beautiful girl with long orange hair. Aria would've been intimidated by the girl's beauty, but had seen the show enough to know that Starfire wasn't all-together. Beauty but a lack of brains. Aria also knew not to fear Raven and that Cyborg would be fun to hang out with. The trio was all laughing as they walked in, but as soon as they saw Aria, they froze and starred.

"I was about to call a team meeting but looks like we're all here," said Robin, "we're going to need to decide some important…" The alarm went off and an image popped up on the Titan's screen.

"Hello Titans," it was Mad Mod. "I've come to reclaim America. You can meet me on the underground train."

Something on the screen looked familiar to Aria. The cane! She remembered seeing previews for this week's episode. In the episode there was a cane, which turns Robin into an elderly, frail, old man.

"Titan's, GO!" yelled Robin. They began to fly off and Aria caught hold of Robin's sleeve.

"Robin, don't touch the cane! Destroy it as soon as you can. It'll make you old!"

"What? How do you know this?" he asked.

"You're the TV show I watch, remember. Just trust me!"

"Ok. You better be right. Stay here, we'll finish this when we get back. I trust you!"

And with that, the Titans were off and Aria was left at the Tower by herself.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

The Titans had just rushed off and Aria was left there all by herself. _What am I going to do!_ Aria thought _I'm trapped here and I have no way of getting home! I'm in a cartoon! How is that possible! _Then a new fear came to Aria's mind _Stuart! He's home alone now! He must be scared! And to think that my last words to him were horrible! My parents! What are they going to do when they find out I'm gone! They'll all think I'm dead and they're all going to worry! I need to find a way to communicate with them! Ok, calm down._ Aria calmed herself down and decided to explore a little. She walked around the Titan's Tower. It was huge! There were so many different rooms. Aria decided not to go in any of them so she wouldn't get lost. The Tower's hallways were pretty long and the Tower had to be at least 10 stories. When Aria was done exploring, she decided to go back up to the main room and just…wait. She didn't have to wait long when the Titans came back in. They were all excited about what had just happened. Robin had Mad Mod's cane in his hand.

"Did you see the way I became a snake and wrapped myself around him! Then Starfire flew out of nowhere and grabbed his cane!" Beast Boy was reliving the moment they took down Mad Mod.

"Yeah, but we have more important matters to discuss," said Robin as he turned to Aria. All the Titans sat on the coach.

"How bout you guys fill us in on everything you know so far," suggested Raven. Aria was a little scarred. Not just of Raven, but of all the Titans. She had seen what they could do. Aria had thought it was all fake. Guess not. Aria had no powers. She couldn't shoot bolts or do magic, she couldn't change into an animal or even do karate. She had taken some karate, but she was little then. However, Aria wasn't a weakling. She was a strong girl and did a lot of sports back home. But she had no powers. She couldn't fight. Aria stood in fear and awe of the Titans and their powers.

"Her name's Aria. You are going to find this hard to believe, but she fell out of the TV. That's all we know," answered Robin. "We need to find a way to get her home. Until then, she'll be living here with us."

"Wait, can you excuse us, Aria?" asked Cyborg.

"Sure." The Titans went of to another room. They had some more things to talk about.

"What if she's a spy or something?" said Cyborg.

"A spy coming out of the TV? That's a little weird," replied Beast Boy. Raven spoke, "We can't be to careful. We've been betrayed before. Other people have come here and seemed innocent but leaked information to our enemies. How do we know that she may not be the same way?"

"We don't know. She may be a spy but what if she needs help? We can't just abandon someone in trouble. All we can do is trust her," said Robin.

"That is true. We help people and I think we shall help her!" declared Starfire.

"All in favor of keeping her here until we can get her home?" questioned Robin. Robin, Beast Boy, Starfire, and Cyborg raised their hands.

"She can stay, but I don't trust her." Raven raised her hand.

"Alright, looks like she's staying. She'll sleep on the couch. Let's talk to her about getting her home," said Robin. The Titans walked back into the main room where Aria was waiting. Aria had gotten a little nervous that they would toss her out on the curb.

"Looks like your gonna stay here with us," Robin told her. Aria was relieved. She wouldn't know what she would've done if she had been tossed out in the streets. At least now she had help from the Titans. They seemed friendlier now, except Raven. She gave Aria the cold shoulder.

"I am happy you are staying with us! I am Starfire and wish to be your friend! You will be my friend, yes?"

"Sure!" answered Aria. Starfire was happy to have a new friend and embraced Aria.

"Uh, Starfire, can't breath." Starfire let go and blushed a little. Starfire didn't know her own strength and could get a little excited when getting a new friend. A new Titan came up to Aria.

"I'm Cyborg. If you need any food or anything, I'll cook it right up." Cyborg then came in close to Aria and began to whisper in her ear, "Don't let BB cook you anything. It'll just end up being tofu or something with vegetables. He's not that good of a cook either. Bleh!"

"Hey! I heard that! I'm a very good cook just to let you know! I can cook meat too! What do you think I did at that job all day!" replied Beast Boy. Beast Boy had once worked at a fast food place. He believed he was an excellent cook now. That's what he thought, not everyone else.

Raven had been standing by herself in a corner. She didn't trust Aria. After being betrayed by Terra, Raven didn't trust anyone. She only trusted her four closest friends, Robin, Starfire, Beast Boy and Cyborg. Robin went over to Raven and gave her a little bit of a push in Aria's direction.

"I don't trust her!" whispered Raven.

"I don't fully trust her either. But I'm giving her a chance. She seems nice. Give her a chance. You never know, she might be helpful to the team. Now at least introduce yourself."

Raven gave in and went over to Aria. "Hi. I'm Raven." Aria stuck out her hand. Raven shook it. When Raven touched Aria, she couldn't sense any evil or danger. She relaxed a bit.

"I'm Aria. I don't mean to freak you out or anything, but I know you don't trust me. I've seen you on TV and I know you've never really trusted anyone after that whole…Terra thing." Aria trailed off a bit. She didn't want to offend Raven. "It's ok. You don't have to trust me. I'll understand."

Raven looked at Aria. She could tell that Aria was gentle. Raven still didn't trust her but decided to take Robin's advice. She smiled a little. "Welcome to Titan Tower."


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

The Titans still had some matters to discuss. Maybe they could get Aria back into the TV tonight. The Titans had been inside the television before. They could probably do it again.

"We have been inside of the television before. We'll use Control Freak's remote!" suggested Starfire.

"I don't know if that will work. I'm not a show you watch on TV. I'm from another dimension. It's not the same. If you do that I'll just be inside your TV, not back home." The Titans nodded. They all sat there thinking and scratching their heads for new ideas.

"I have an idea!" yelled Beast Boy. Cyborg butted in, "If it has to do with training chimps and dimension transporting hamsters, we don't want to hear it."

"Never mind," replied Beast Boy, "Wait, can't Raven transport people to other dimensions?"

"I have to be able to see which dimension I'm transporting them to. We have no idea what dimension she's from. For all we know, it could be more complex then just getting her back to a different dimension. This may have to do with certain stars and planets being aligned. We don't have enough information right now to get her back." Raven was right. This was a very weird situation. What had caused for Aria to be enveloped into a cartoon?

"Alright," Robin stated, "Here's what we need to do. We need to find out what exactly transported Aria here. We also need to see if there's a way to communicate with the dimension she's from. We'll focus on these things now and take this one step at a time. I'm going to go run some tests on Mad Mod's cane and see if it does what Aria said it does." Robin walked off and went to his lab. The rest of the Titans and Aria stayed upstairs in the living room.

"So, since you're staying with us for a while, let's see how good you are at video games!" challenged Cyborg.

"Alright, but I must warn you, me and my little brother had tournaments back home." Aria picked up the controller and got ready. Cyborg put in a fighting game. Cyborg and Aria fought for a long time. Just when you thought Cyborg would lose, Aria would make a come back. In the end, Cyborg won by just an inch.

"You're pretty good, but not good enough!" gloated Cyborg.

"Good game, good game!" Aria said, admitting defeat. Just then, Robin came walking in. He was done with all his experiments on the cane.

"Looks like you were right. The cane does make make you older. My guess is that Mad Mod was going to use the cane to steal our youth. You know what they always say, 'youth is wasted on the young.' Hey, while your hear, Aria, maybe you can help us. You watch the show and probably know some things we don't. Some of the information you know will be valuable. So, will you help us?" asked Robin.

"Of course! Its kind of payback for all that you guys are doing for me. I really appreciate it." Aria responded.

00000

"Stuart! Aria! We're home!" Stuart and Aria's parents said as they searched for their kids. It was about 10:30. They had just gotten back from a nice dinner and were in good spirits. "Stuart? Aria? Where are you guys?" They went into the playroom to try and find their kids. They were shocked at what they saw. There was furniture flipped over, a counter was broken, papers and things lay everywhere. It looked like a tornado had ripped through. Sitting in the middle of it all was Stuart. He was glued to the TV. Tears were streaking down the little boys face.

"Stuart! What happened? Where's Aria?" his parents questioned him. They were worried and scarred. Stuart looked up at his mom, who held him in an embrace, and pointed to the TV.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

On the TV that Stuart was watching was a show. Nothing special. Just the same show he always watched. However, there was something different. There was a new character on the show.

"Mommy! It's Aria!" whimpered Stuart. Stuart's mom looked at him.

"That's not your sister. It's just a cartoon! We need to find your realy sister. Where is she?" she questioned as she began to cry.

00000

Over the next two weeks, Aria got to know the Titans pretty well. She enjoyed the life she lived in Titan Tower. For once in her life, Aria was completely free. There was no homework, no school, no after school activities and no one to tell her what to do and when to do it. She would wake up when she wanted to and go to bed when she wanted to. She made new friends. Aria would do everything with the Titans. She would play football and stank-ball. She would help them take down bad guys too. Aria had seen so many Teen Titans episodes with her little brother, that she knew everything about every bad guy. They tried to find ways to get Aria home, but all the ideas failed. Aria wanted to help out more and began to train some. Robin would help her in the gym and teach her some karate moves.

Even though Aria had hung out with the Titans, laughed with them and seemed like friends with them, she held them at a distance. No one really noticed it except Robin. Robin was training Aria one day when Robin struck up a conversation with Aria to try and find out about her past.

Robin questioned her, "So, what was your life like back home? What's your family like? You never really told any of us about your home life." Aria took a few more punches at a punching bag before answering.

"O you know, regular life. Wake up, go to school, go to sports practices, come home, do homework, go to sleep, wake up and do it all over again." She kept punching at her bag and added a few kicks here in there.

"Well, what were your friends like?" Aria's punches intensified. Robin was a little stunned. He had never seen Aria look so angry. She had a look of pure hatred on her face. She concentrated fully on the bag and every punch packed more power then the last. Robin could see that he had asked the wrong question. Aria's eyes began to well up with tears. Aria took a final punch at the bag and ripped it wide open. Robin placed a hand on Aria's shoulder.

"Aria, what is it? You can tell me."

"I'd rather not talk about it." With that, Aria walked out of the training room and went upstairs. Robin was left standing in the room by himself. _Why won't she tell me anything?_ Robin contemplated _Something must have happened in her past. She's holding everyone at a distance. She needs a real friend. She needs to open her heart up to someone. There's so much pain; I can feel it. _Aria had gone upstairs and into the room that she was temporarily using. She grabbed a pillow and let her tears silently flow. _Be strong _she thought _No one can know! It's no big deal anyways. They'll all just think you're a wimp and a loser. _Aria whipped away her tears and went to play some cards with BB, Raven, Cyborg and Starfire.

"Hey, you guys want to deal me in?"

"Yeah, but we thought you and Robin were training?" questioned Cyborg.

"Yeah, I was tired and stopped." They dealt Aria in. They were all laughing and having a grand time when Robin walked in from the training room. He paused and starred at Aria _She's smiling now! Just 5 minutes ago she was about to break down. She's hiding something. She won't show us her true feelings. She has a barrier up that needs to be taken down._ Robin looked Aria in the eyes for a long while. Aria began to get nervous and look away.

Aria broke the science, "Uhh, BB, it's your turn to deal." Robin walked off to his room as all the Titans stared.

"Ok…what was up with that?" Raven asked Aria. Aria didn't look up from her cards.

"I have no idea. Weird huh?" she replied. The other Titans kind of stared at her for a bit. They shrugged it off and kept on playing. Raven, however, didn't forget about it.

"Hey, I have a great idea!" exclaimed Beast Boy, "I challenge you, Cyborg, to a waffle eating contest! Starfire and Aria will be the judges!"

"You're on!" The contest began. Raven slipped off and went to find Robin. He was in his room. She knocked on his door.

"Hey Raven. What's up?" Raven entered his room.

"What was the deal between you and Aria during the card game? I could sense something between you two. Pain. What's going on?"

"I don't know," Robin said as he looked at the ground, "I asked her about her friends back home. She grew really intense and her eyes started to water up. I told her that she could tell me. She said she didn't want to talk about it and she walked off. I think something happened to her in her life. She's really shut off from people. She only lets them get so close before pushing them away. Don't you sense it?"

"I feel it too. She masks her feelings well. She can't do that. It only leads to trouble. All emotion needs to escape somehow. She can't keep it bottled up like that. What can we do?"

"Just be her friend. Show her you care and maybe the barrier will come down." Raven nodded and walked out. She went back to the kitchen for the food-eating contest. Robin followed. As they walked into the kitchen, they both got a face-full of food. The food-eating contest had turned into a full-blown food fight. Robin and Raven joined in on the assault. BB, armed with a bottle of syrup, flew out form behind the counter. He was pounded in mid-air by waffle, butter and leftovers. Starfire ran around pegging people with Tamaranian berries. Cyborg had loaded his canon with ketchup. Aria was throwing pizza slices as if they were Frisbees. One landed right in Robin's mouth. All the Titans were laughing and covered in food when the TV came on. The Titans froze and stared at the screen. On the screen was a dark, malevolent looking man. His face was hidden by a mask. Half of it was black, the other orange. It was Slade. The Titans froze, shocked at the image of the man on the screen. They had only seen him once since his apparent death.

"Well, well, well. Guess you are just a bunch of kids after all," jeered a cold voice.

"What do you want?" glared Robin. Robin face was narrowed with rage.

"I heard you had a friend in the tower helping you out. Heard she was giving you hints about your enemies." Slade sneered at Aria. Aria didn't flinch. She knew what Slade was like. He was dark and showed no mercy. He hated the Titans, some of the only people to ever show compassion to Aria in her whole life. Aria knew she had to be strong about this.

"Keep her out of this!" bellowed Robin, "She never did anything to you! It's us you want! Remember!"

"Silly boy, you best keep a close eye on her. You wouldn't want her to get hurt would you? Mwahaha!" laughed Slade, wickedly. The TV shut off and Slade was gone.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

"You're not leaving this building!" Robin commanded Aria.

"What! He's not going to seriously come after me. Plus, you guys will be there. I can't just stay cooped up inside all day!"

"I'm doing this for your own safety! Slade is a tricky guy. If you don't stay inside this tower he'll find a way to get you even if we are there! I don't want you to get hurt." Robin rested his hand on Aria's shoulder and wiped away some pizza sauce from her face. She looked down at the ground. Aria couldn't stand being inside all day. She had to be out in the open air.

"I know it's for my own safety but I need to be outside. I can't stay inside all day. It's like prison."

"Look, you can go outside on the roof if one of us goes with you. How about that?"

"Ok I guess. Maybe we should start cleaning up a little from the fight." All the Titans looked around. The mess was bigger then they thought. They began to pick up the food and clean it off the walls. It took them well over an hour to get all the food picked up. As soon as they were done they drew straws for first shower. Aria won and got to go first. As soon as she got in, Robin called a team meeting.

"We all need to keep a close eye on Aria. Slade wants for some reason. She doesn't have any powers so she's pretty vulnerable to Slade. We need to make sure that there's someone with her at all times. There's also something else, she seems to be shut off. She's scared to get close to people. Something's gone on in her past and we need to find out what."

"How do we do that?" asked Starfire.

"We be her friends. She may open up eventually," concluded Raven.

Beast Boy butted in, "Maybe if we get her a moped. She might open up then, I know I would."

"She's not you!" exclaimed Cyborg, "She'll open up on her own time. I don't think we can rush this thing." Just then Aria came out of the bathroom and sat down on the couch.

"So, I guess I'll stay here while you guys go to the movies," she said.

"Yes, we were looking forward to seeing the Creature From The Black Lagoon, but it would be no fun if you didn't go."

"It's ok. You can go, I don't mind staying here."

"No, me and Cyborg will go rent a movie. Let's go Cyborg."

"Coming." Cyborg and Beast Boy left to go get the movie. Nothing really happened while they were gone. They talked a little but everyone was too scared to bring up questions on Aria's past. Then Beast Boy and Cyborg came barging through the door.

"Alright," said Beast Boy, "We rented Clash of the Planets…"

"And," cut in Cyborg, "we got pizza!" All the Titans sat down and got ready to watch the movie. They weren't even an hour into it when Aria was asleep. By the end of the movie, everyone but Robin had fallen asleep. Robin went to turn off the TV when Aria began to talk in her sleep.

"No, no, don't, please!" She began to toss and turn, "Leave us alone! Don't hurt her!" She kept tossing and began to cry. Robin gently shook her.

"Wake up, it's a bad dream," he told her. Aria woke up and looked around. She saw that it really was a dream and relaxed.

"You ok?"

"Yeah. It's just the whole Slade thing reminded me of something. Nothing big."

"You know, you shouldn't keep feelings hidden. They'll eat you up inside. I can see what it's doing to you. You need to tell someone. I'll let you do it on your own time but the longer you wait, the harder it'll be. You can trust us."

"I've learned many things in my life. One is that you can't trust anyone. They'll let you down when you need them most."

"That's not true! I don't know what went on in your life but not everyone's like the people that hurt you. None of us would ever hurt you. Never!" Aria got up and began to walk to her room.

"I'm going to bed now, Robin. Goodnight."

"Your scared. You're scared because you know I'm right. If you ever want to talk, just pull one of us aside. We'll always be there for you."

"Goodnight," replied Aria softly and she went to her room.

The next two weeks were a bore for Aria. She couldn't go anywhere because of the threat form Slade. Aria desperately tried to go home. She was scared of Robin. She was scared that she would let him get close and then hurt her. She was scared that all the Titans would hurt her emotionally. She was still friends with them. She just wouldn't let them get near her heart. One day, Aria was sick of being inside all the time and took a chance and seeing if she could go outside.

"Robin, can I please go outside? We could all go get pizza or something. I'm just so sick of being inside all the time."

"No, you could get hurt."

"But we haven't heard from Slade in 2 weeks! It's been so long and I need to do something. Just 10 minutes. That's all." Aria gave Robin a pleading look.

"Please!" Aria got on her knees and begged.

"She's right you know. I wouldn't be able to be inside all day. Let's go get pizza or something for 10 minutes. She'll be fine," agreed Beast Boy. Robin looked at Aria. She really wanted to go outside. Robin was still unsure but gave in.

"Ok. We're going for pizza. That's it." Aria hopped up and gave him a hug.

"Thank you! Yes!" All the Titans went to the pizza place. They sat at a table with a white and red umbrella. Aria loved the freedom of being outside. They were all laughing and enjoying their pizza.

"See, you're so uptight Robin. There's nothing wrong and we're almost done with our pizza," jeered Cyborg.

"Maybe your right. I guess I am too uptight sometimes."

"Seriously dude, I'm glad you are no longer in denial," teased Beast Boy. They were all laughing when they heard footsteps. The steps grew closer. They looked down the street in the direction of the steps. Everyone was shocked. Marching up the street were Slade's robots!

"Titans, you fight them off! I'm going to make a run for it with Aria to the Tower!" ordered Robin. The Titans sprung into action. Robin hopped on his motorcycle.

"Get on the back and hold on tight!" he ordered Aria. She did as she was told. Robin took off towards the Tower. He was heading down the street when more robots cut him off from the front. Robin turned down a side road. More robots! Robin used the hood of a car as a jump and jumped over the line of robots. Robin and Aria continued to speed toward the Tower when a army of Slade's robots cut them off again. The robots herded them into an ally. Robin hopped off.

"Aria, stay behind me! I'll try to fight them off."

"There's too many! I can help you!"

"No! You'll only get hurt!"

"You trained me! I can do this! I don't want to go down without a fight! Trust me!" Robin looked at her. She looked so sure. He gave in. Robin pulled out his Bo-staff. He went after a robot and struck it hard in the head. He jumped over another hitting it in the head, spinning and hitting another in the abdomen. Aria took off too. She jumped on one's shoulders and twisted off its head. She then threw the robots head at another robot, hitting it in the arm and taking it off. Robin was a little shocked at what she had learned. Aria was fighting fiercely. She was delivering punches left and right. She wasn't near Robin status yet, but was still a good fighter. Robin and Aria looked like they had everything under control when a hand came out of a manhole. The hand grabbed Aria by the ankle and pulled her underneath.

"Aria!" Robin noticed she was missing and looked around.

"Aria!" The robots retreated. Robin went after a robot and took it down.

"Where is she! Where did you take her!" He shouted as he kicked and punched it. Robin, defeated, went back to Titan Tower. He went into the main room and saw all the Titans were already back. They all looked up at him. They saw Aria was not among him.

"Our friend?" trembled Starfire.

"Slade got her," Robin mumbled. He had been defeated. He had failed. He let Aria down. He said she could trust him and he had let her down.

Cyborg slammed his fist on the table. "We will get her back!" he said, determined, "We will find her!" Robin didn't even look up. He leaned on the table, staring at the ground.

"She doesn't have a communicator. We have no way of tracking her. She's gone."


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter 6

"Well, well, well. Looks like your finally waking up. I don't know why my robots had such a hard time with you and Robin. All I had to do was hit you on the head once and you were out. Now that you're awake I have some important matters to discuss with you." Aria shook her aching head and realized she was in a dark room. She went to massage her head and found that her arms were bound to the wall by chains. Looking down she saw that her feet were too. She wasn't going anywhere soon.

"I have a little deal for you," snarled Slade.

"I'll never make a deal with you! I know who you are! All you want to do is destroy the Titans! My friends! I don't care what your deal is; you can keep it!" She spat at his feet. She looked into his cold, dark eyes. Aria knew he was one of no mercy.

"You are quite brave. But you don't have a choice. You will accept my deal. I don't want you for an apprentice or anything. But you will tell me everything you know about the Teen Titans."

"And if I refuse?"

Slade slapped Aria across the face. "Let's just say that's a little sample of what is to come."

Aria's face stung but she didn't care. She wouldn't betray her friends. "I'll never tell you anything."

"You will tell me everything. From what their weaknesses and strengths are to what they like on their pizza." Slade punched her in the stomach. She doubled over in pain. But she remained silent. Slade punched her again. "You better speak up. I'm not afraid to kill you, you know." Slade drew a knife and pressed it against Aria's neck. She didn't falter. She just looked back at the dark mask.

"I don't care what you do to me. Kill me for all I care. But I am not a traitor!" Slade slid the blade along her throat and drew some blood. Aria winced at the pain.

"You better speak up or the next cut won't be so shallow."

"You won't do it."

"Won't I?" Slade stabbed her in the shoulder.

"Ahhhh!" Aria cried out in pain.

"Now! Tell me what I need to know!"

Aria chuckled a little. "You're still bluffing. You won't do it because you need me. Without me you have no inside way to get to the Titans."

"That doesn't mean I can't make the next moments of your life a living hell!"

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"What's wrong with you man!" Cyborg asked Robin. "You did not let her down! There was nothing you could do!"

"I shouldn't have let her out of the Tower! I shouldn't have let her fight! I gave into her and she got hurt!"

"So you're just going to give up on her! Stop mopping around and blaming yourself! That won't get her back! Snap out of it man and think!"

"How are we going to track her? She's gone! Slade probably killed her by now." Robin buried his head in his lap.

"Robin," said Raven, "Slade hasn't done anything with her yet. He's probably using her to get to us. It's up to us to get her back. Don't give up! You've never given up before. You can still get her back. This isn't over!"

Robin looked up. Raven was right. It wasn't over! He would find Slade and rescue Aria.

"Your right! Titans, the first thing we need to do is find out where Aria is. She was pulled into the sewer so we'll begin our search there."

The Titans took off. Robin was speeding on his motorcycle next to Cyborg in his car. Raven flew along above with Starfire and Beast Boy. They found the manhole and descended into the darkness. Starfire used a bolt for light. Slade hadn't done a good job of covering his footprints. The Titans followed the prints. They walked for about 2 blocks when they heard noises. There were cries of pain and anguish. There were sounds of anger and impatience. The Titans began to run to the noises and began to see a glow of red. They were nearing Slade's hide out. They ran towards the glow. The pathway stopped and emptied above a large room. Looking down into the room they could see Aria and Slade. Aria was chained to the wall. He was punching her, over and over again.

"Tell me what I want to know!" Slade yelled at her.

"I'll never tell." She said, weakened from his blows. Slade raised hand to hit her again when Robin cut in

"Stop!" he yelled, "Let her go!" Slade looked up as the Titans jumped down into the room.

"Robin, what a nice surprise. As you can see I was taking good care of your friend here. Pity you let her out of the Tower."

"Let her go and we won't kick your ass as hard!" Robin yelled in rage.

"No."

"Titans, Go!" commanded Robin. The Titans all launched for Slade. All of a sudden, they froze! They couldn't move. They had fallen into a trap.

"I thought you might come after her. So, I built this. It's like a giant tazer that paralysis all of your muscles, freezing you in place. Now I have you all where I want you. No one can save you now."

Aria was infuriated! Slade could do whatever he wanted with her, but now that he had put her friend's lives on the line, she was mad. Aria raised her head. Her eyes were shut from the previous beating. "No one messes with my friends!" She opened her eyes and they had changed from their normal brown to a golden yellow. Aria pulled with all her strength on the chains and pulled them off the wall. Aria raised her hand and shot a ball of fire at Slade! It struck him in the chest and sent him flying into one of the pillars which controlled the tazers. The tazer broke and the Titans were free. But they remained frozen, in shock of what had just happened.

"I told you that you could do what you wanted to me!" She threatened as she walked toward him. She struck him with a fiery fist in the face, "But when you threaten my friends," she hit him again, "then you just went to a whole new level!" She punched at him again. He blocked it. Slade tried to retaliate with a kick to the head but Aria ducked and shot a ball of fire at him. Slade jumped up to the platform above the room.

"Impressive," he commented, "but I'm not done yet." He looked into Aria's golden eyes, furious with rage. Fog engulfed Slade. By the time it had settled, he was gone. Aria continued to stare at where Slade was but then gave into her wounds and exhaustion. She began to collapse but Robin was there and caught her in his arms.

00000

"Hey, I think she's finally waking up!" yelled Beat Boy. The Titans all ran over to Aria's bedside. She began to blink her eyes.

"Welcome back," said Cyborg. Aria opened her eyes and sat up. She was very sore. Her neck and shoulder were wrapped from where Slade had stabbed her. She was covered in bruises.

"How long have I been out?" she asked.

"For about 2 days. You were in pretty bad shape." Robin answered.

"Our friend has returned!" Starfire exclaimed as she jumped up and down. She went to hug Aria but all the Titans interceded. Aria wasn't ready for a hug from Starfire just yet.

"Dude, since when could you do that little fire trick! Why didn't you tell us?" exclaimed Beast boy

"Cause I didn't even know! I don't know how I got them!"

"And your eyes changed colors! They're kind of goldenly, yellowishy."

"They did!" exclaimed Aria. Starfire got Aria a mirror and sure enough! Aria had yellow eyes. Aria looked at her hand and made a little fireball. She had just unleashed her powers and wondered what else she could do.

"Hey you guys, do you mind if I talk to Aria alone for a little bit?" asked Robin. The Titans all shrugged and began to walk out, except Starfire.

"Actually…" she began to say before Raven grabbed her and pulled her out the door.

"I need to talk to you. I need to say I'm sorry," apologized Robin.

"What? Why? You never did anything."

"I told you that you could trust me! I told you that I'd protect you and you got hurt! It's all my fault! I let you down when you needed me most!" Robin hung his head in shame. Aria smiled and shook her head.

"You're too hard on yourself! You never let me down! You came after me when I needed you most. You were there to protect me. And I remember that you were the one who caught me when I fell." Robin looked up. Aria was smiling. "Look, this is hard for me, but I trust you. That night when you said I was afraid, you were right. I am afraid. I'm scared of letting you guys get too close. But I don't want to push you away anymore!"

"You don't have to. I think I may have pushed you into doing this and I don't want you to tell me if you're not comfortable."

"No, I want to tell you. Well, I've been shut off to everyone for probably two big reasons. The first reason goes back to when I was little. I remember my dad would yell at my mom every night! They would fight! I would curl up under my covers and just cry, 'Please don't fight anymore!' He would then fall asleep on the floor next to his bottles of beer. I cried myself to sleep every night." Aria's eyes began to well up with tears, "Over the years it kept getting worse. He began to hit my mom and beat her. Then he would come after me and beat me too. That went on until I was 10. Then one night…" she paused. Tears overflowing down her face. "Then one night he didn't come home. My mom was tucking me in. She was able to read me a bedtime story and I was so happy! She sang me a song and told me how much she loved me. Then my dad came home. He found me and my mom. He pulled a knife and began to stab her, over and over again! I jumped on him and yelled at him! That was the first time I had ever fought back. But he threw me on the ground. He had been drinking and collapsed from the alcohol. I went over to my mom and pulled her head into my lap. Her body was soaked in blood. She raised a hand to my face and said, 'I'll always be with you. I will be your guardian angel.' Then…she died. I tried to get her to wake up but she wouldn't. I finally called the police and they arrested my dad. He's in jail for life. But I'll never have my mom back." Robin looked at Aria in shock. "Aria means beautiful melody in Latin. My mom named me that because I was the only beautiful thing in her life. After that I went to live with my mom's sister, her husband and their son Stuart. I've always called Stuart my little brother anyways, so it made sense to go live with them. They're good parents. But they sent me to a school, which wasn't so kind. I got picked on everyday there. It's because the most popular guy in school thought I was pretty and the popular girls got mad about it. So they picked on me. It started out with teasing. I had a friend there who would stick up for me. I confided in her and told her everything. Well ends up she would betray our friendship for popularity. She told the other girls things and joined in on the teasing. Soon the whole school joined in. It got bad. They would throw me in garbage cans and rip up my homework. They even locked me in the cafeteria's freezer overnight once. I would just let them torment me. There was no way to escape from it at school. My only escape was my room. I could feel my mom there. Since then I haven't told anyone anything." The tears were pouring down Aria's face.

"I didn't know that it was that bad of a story. I am so sorry." Robin sat next to Aria on the bed and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder. "Aria, it's ok to cry." She began to break down. The tears went from streams flowing down her face to waterfalls. She had held the emotion in for so long that it all came out at once. "We'll never do to you what those kids at your school did. We're friends. That one girl was not a friend. A friend doesn't betray their friends. I promise that will never happen to you again! And you're mom, I bet you she's watching down on you right now. That's probably why you survived a beating from Slade. You're lucky to have her." Aria continued to cry and Robin continued to hold her. He wasn't going to let her go. She needed him. She needed the Titans. She had poured out her heart and soul to him. Aria knew then and there that she finally had a friend.

00000

Aria stayed in bed for the next week. The Titans kept her company and would play card games with her. She let Robin tell the other Titans her story. Starfire and Beast Boy cried. Since she was still recovering, Aria spent half the day sleeping. That gave the Titans enough time to make her a special surprise. Aria's bruises healed and she was able to walk around. The only thing still healing was the stab wound to her shoulder.

"Aria, we have a special surprise for you! Come quickly to the room of the television!" sang Starfire. Aria ran over to the main room and saw all the Titans standing around. They blindfolded her and walked her down the hallway. When they took the blindfold off Aria was starring at a room. It had fresh paint on the walls and new bed sheets.

"We figured you'll be staying here a while and made you your own room. I was able to look into your dimension and found out what your room was like." said Raven.

"I don't know what to say! My own room! Mommy! I can feel her here…"

"Look in the closet," said Cyborg. Aria opened the closet door and found about 20 of the same outfit starring back at her. The outfit was all red and reminded her of an outfit in one of Stuart's games. Talim from Soul Caliber 2 had an outfit like the costume that was looking at her. There were shorts and a midriff baring shirt. Aria's costume went with a pair of red converse.

"What does this mean?" asked Aria.

"It means welcome to the team!" exclaimed Robin, "We want you to fight for us. You have powers now and you kicked some serious robot butt. We found out that you got them when you came through the TV. Beast Boy was watching a show on fire, remember. The fire entered your DNA, giving you the powers. Your desire to protect us is what finally unleashed your powers. So, will you become a Teen Titan?" Robin pulled out a communicator held it out towards Aria. Aria grabbed the communicator.

"Boo-yah! Now go get changed into your new clothes and throw those ones away. We only wear one outfit incase you haven't noticed. Let's go for a night on the town to celebrate!" declared Cyborg. All the Titans took off for the door, including their newest member.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter 7

That night was full of celebration. Cyborg thought it would be fun to go dancing. They went to the nearest dance club. The Titans walked in; along with Aria, their newest member, wearing her new costume. People were either dancing or talking with each other and laughing. Aria went and stood along one of the bars and got a virgin margarita. Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire started dancing immediately. Beast Boy walked up to a model type girl.

"So," he asked her in his most romantic voice, "would you like to dance with a super hero? I heard it's all the rage now days. We could also ride my moped."

"Sorry, I'm here with my boyfriend, Rodrigo." Beast Boy was use to rejection and just moved on to the next girl. Aria laughed at his persistence. Raven stood next to her, along with Robin.

"This is your party! Don't you want to go dance?" Robin asked Aria.

"I've never been much of a dancer. Actually, I just can't dance. I've tried it before and haven't done so well. Why aren't you dancing?"

"I'm not to good at it either. Raven has also never been one to dance." Robin, Raven and Aria watched the people dance for a while. Then a familiar song came on. Ma-ia-hee, ma-ia-huu, mi-ia-hoo, mi-ia-ha-ha. Aria couldn't believe her ears. It was the Numa Numa song that had been taking over the computers back home. Aria decided she would dance to this one. She walked out there with Cyborg, Beast Boy and Starfire. Aria lost herself in the music and danced like an idiot along with the rest of her friends.

"I thought she didn't dance," Robin mentioned to Raven. Aria was a lot better dancer then she thought she was. Raven looked over at Robin and saw that he wasn't taking his eyes off Aria.

"So, what's the deal between you two?" Raven asked him. Robin looked at Raven with a bit of shock.

"What do you mean? Do you think that there's something going on between us? We're just friends. Plus, we're all teammates and live together. You can't let feelings get in the way of what we do. It's not professional."

"But you're also a teenager. You're human. You get feelings. Titan or not, you still get have feelings for other. It's unavoidable." Robin didn't know how to respond. It was true. He had always thought Aria was beautiful. She was also a challenge. Robin was always up for a challenge. That was probably one of the reasons why he never pursued his feelings for Starfire. Starfire was pretty but Aria was beautiful. Star had also been open about her feelings. Robin preferred a girl who was more secretive. Robin never took anything that was easy to get.

"So, it's true. You do have feelings. The boy who's never had feelings before has finally become a victim of Cupid." Raven looked at him and gave him a mischievous smile. Robin was blushing.

"How could you tell?"

"You're the color of you're uniform. I've seen the way you look at her. I've never seen you give anyone that look before."

"Don't tell anyone! I'm new to this whole…l…love…thing." Robin mumbled, "Plus, I don't know if she feels the same way. I don't take any kind of rejection well, you know that."

"So, what are you going to do about Starfire?" Raven asked. Robin looked at Starfire. She was dancing and having a good time. Robin knew Starfire had always liked him. Robin didn't want to hurt her.

"She's like a sister to me. I had always flirted with her and I might have played with her head a little. But now, I have no desire to flirt with her anymore. She's kind of like a little sister that I need to take care of."

"What about me? I'm not a sister?" Raven joked.

"You're like my big sister. I go to you for advice. I'll protect you but I know you can take care of yourself a lot more then Starfire can. She's not from this world after all." Robin looked at Starfire again. She was so bubbly, like a little kid. She wouldn't last a day if she were alone on the streets. She would be jailbait in 5 seconds. Starfire caught his gave and gave him a quick wave. Then two guys went up to Aria. One was obviously the player and the other was a lackey. Robin felt his cheeks heat with jealousy.

"Hey, want some company?" the stranger asked Aria, with a cool smile on his face. Aria looked at the guy in disgust. She knew what the guy meant by "company". Pervert. Robin clenched his fists at the remark.

"The only company you'll get from me is my foot in your ass," Aria commented back. Robin smiled.

"So, you think you're some big tough girl, huh? It's ok though. I forgive you. How bout we head on back to my place?" Robin was getting ready to intervene.

"It's guys like you who disgust me. You just think girls are some freebie that they can have any time they want! How bout you and your little friend go back to your place. You'll get more pleasure out of him then you will me." Robin and Raven were both laughing now.

"No one turns me down!" The guy grabbed Aria by the wrist. Robin stopped laughing and was about to jump the guy when Aria brought her knee up into the guy's manly area. The guy leaned over in pain.

"Now you'll never be able to bug another girl like that again," Aria turned to the Titans, "So, anyone want to go to the fair?" The other Titans all looked at each other and just shrugged, "Sure."

"Looks like you won't have to protect her from other guys," Raven whispered teasingly to Robin. The Titans left for the fair. They rode several of the rides. The roller coaster was a fun one, except Beast Boy screamed the whole time and held onto Raven's head the whole time. They got in line for the Ferris wheel. Starfire grabbed Robin by the arm and dragged him onto the same chair as her. Raven sat with Aria.

"I need to talk to you about something," Raven told Aria.

"What is it?" Aria wondered.

"I…it's…I don't think I can tell you. Sorry I even brought it up," stuttered Raven. She had almost told Aria about Robin's feelings and decided it was better for Robin to do it on his time. Except, being Robin, he might never.

"It's ok, cause I wanted to talk to you about something. I was wondering…never mind. It's stupid." Raven was curious now. She wanted to know more about what Aria was going to say. Did she maybe have feelings for Robin, too? He had been her best friend since she had gotten here. She confided in him a lot. Raven wondered if she would have to play matchmaker.

On the next chair over, Robin was trying to find the right words and the nerve to tell Starfire his real feelings for her.

"Star, I've been thinking about some things lately." Robin scratched the back of his head.

"Like what? Has it been that my hair has been silkier or that my skin has gotten softer?"

"That's not it, I've been thinking about…about…my true feelings for you," Starfire's eyes grew big with anticipation. She was waiting for him to say the words she so longed to hear. Robin took in a deep breath and finally said what he had planned, "I've noticed that you maybe…like…me…some, but I can't return those feelings. You're more like a little sister to me. I could never see me in a relationship with you. I'm sorry." Robin felt so much better that he had gotten that off his chest but felt bad for Starfire. Starfire was crushed. She had fallen for Robin the minute she had first laid eyes on him. She had always pictured him and her together. Her eyes watered up but she refused to cry. She didn't want Robin to see her like this. She fought back tears of sadness, hurt and also anger.

"Star, are you ok?"

"Yeah, it's just cold up here. I think I want to get off now."

The ride came to an end and the Titans decided to get some burgers and funnel cakes. Starfire looked at Robin while they were eating. She knew why he didn't like her. It was because of Aria. Starfire liked Aria but hated the feelings Robin had for her. She knew she had to get Robin back. There was only one person she could go to for that, her sister, Blackfire.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter 8

That night when they got back from the fair, Starfire went straight up to her room. She buried her head in her pillow and finally let out the tears she had tried to hide. She didn't know anyone who would understand, except for Blackfire. She decided she would send a letter to Tamaranian and ask Blackfire to come to earth. She would then seek her advice and ask for her help. Who knows, maybe she might find a way to send Aria back home. That way she would be helping Aria. Starfire thought it would be a good idea and wrote her letter. She sent it through a special mail service and tried thinking of ways to send Aria home. Maybe she could use Tamaranian technology. Starfire heard a knock on her door. She went to answer it. Robin was standing there. The last person she wanted to see.

"Are you ok? When we got home you went straight to your room," commented Robin.

"I'm fine. Why would there be anything wrong with me?"

"I was just wondering if you were upset about what I said on the Ferris-wheel. Can I come in so we could talk about it?"

Starfire didn't want to talk about it. She was deeply hurt but didn't want Robin to know it, "I'm fine with you and Aria. I'm happy for you. But I have some important things to do. I would very much like it if I could just be left alone."

"Ok…" Robin walked away but could tell Starfire was lying. He knew she was upset but decided to let it go. He had some important things to do. He needed to talk with Raven. She was the only one who knew about him liking Aria. He walked to Raven's room and knocked on the door.

"Raven, I need to talk to you."

"What?" she asked.

"I need to talk with you in private. I need advice. Please help me. I need to know what girls like."

"Every girl is different. I know this is aimed at Aria so talk to her and find out what she likes in a guy. Be bold. I know you're brave in everything so go ahead and just tell her you like her. What could it hurt?" Raven shut the door to her room before Robin even had time to respond. Robin walked towards Aria's room. He grew very nervous. His stomach churned with butterflies. He stood outside her door practicing what to say.

"Hi Aria…no. Yo, Aria…stupid! Hey…yeah! Hey, what do you like in a guy? That's too blunt. Hey, what type of guys do you go for? No! Man, I might as well just say, 'Hey Aria, I really like you and was wondering if I you would like to go out with me?'"

"I like the last one but think the first one might work the best," Robin cringed. Someone had heard what he had been saying. He turned around to see Cyborg standing there, leaning against a wall with his arms crossed over his chest.

"Cyborg! Did you just hear all that!" Robin was red.

"Yep! So, you are finally acting out your feelings towards a girl for once."

"No! I was just…just…"

"It's ok, you can admit you like someone."

"Yeah, it's just I didn't really want anyone to know."

"I understand, I'll leave you alone. Good luck lover boy!"

"Get out of here!" Robin threw a dirty sock that was lying in the hallway at him. Robin turned to knock on Aria's door. He was about to knock before he chickened out. Questions were spinning in his head. What if she rejected him? What if she said yes and it made everything weird? What if she liked someone else? Robin gave up and walked back to his room.

The next few days were all a blur. The Titans would fight bad guys, hangout, the usual. Then one day there was a ring of the doorbell.

"Who could that be?" asked Beast Boy. Cyborg tapped into the surveillance system.

"It's Blackfire!" exclaimed Cyborg.

"Blackfire!" shouted Starfire excitedly. She flew off to let her in.

"I thought Starfire didn't like her sister?" questioned Beast Boy. The other Titans just shrugged. Starfire let her sister in.

"I am so happy to see you!" Starfire gushed. Blackfire didn't say anything, she didn't even smile. She pushed Starfire aside and walked into the Tower.

"Ok, where is she?" Blackfire demanded.

"I only am asking for your advice. I would very much like to handle this on my own."

"So you want to do something by yourself. How cute. You're finally growing up. Fine, I'll coach you in private. I made some plans on how to get your little boyfriend back. Let's get started on them shall we?" Blackfire and Starfire flew up to Starfire's room.

"Was that Blackfire? I thought she was bad?" asked Aria.

"She is. Dude, what is the deal between her and Star! About 6 months ago Blackfire comes in here thinking she owns the place. Then she goes home and then we go to her home. I thought they had some big fight! Dude, my brain hurts, majorly," replied Beast Boy.

"Maybe they're trying to become friends and end the whole feud," wondered Cyborg. Robin stared at Starfire's closed door. Something didn't feel right. Blackfire was NOT trustworthy. Why did Starfire bring her here? Robin knew he needed to talk with Starfire about it. Meanwhile, Blackfire began her manipulation on Starfire.

"So, let me get this straight. Robin likes Aria but you like Robin, but you aren't sure if Aria likes Robin. Ok, I have some good ideas for you. They'll be drastic but you WILL get Robin back," Blackfire encouraged Star. Starfire looked at her sister with hopeful eyes. She would do ANYTHING to win back Robin.

"First of all, you need to be sneaky about this," Blackfire said as she whipped her dark hair behind her.

"How do I be, sneaky? I am to trick them, yes?" questioned Starfire. Starfire stopped pacing the room and jumped onto her bed.

"There's that, or you could just kill her. That'll get rid of your problem."

"What! I could not kill her! I do not wish to hurt my friend!" Starfire exclaimed, looking at her sister with wide eyes of disbelief.

"Let me ask you something," Blackfire looked at her sister with a sly expression, "who's in pain right now?"

Starfire tucked her head down slowly and replied, "I am."

"Who's the one that's not ok with this whole Robin Aria deal?"

"I am."

"Who's the one who loves Robin?"

Starfire looked up defiantly, "I am!"

"Who would do anything to get him back?" Blackfire exclaimed loudly. Pumping Starfire up with each word.

"I am!"

"Who's the one who's going to win him back?"

" I am!"

"Look, it's better her being hurt then you. Someone's going to get hurt over this. You don't want to be that person do you? So, we won't kill her, we'll be nice. However, we do need to find a way to get rid of her. And I think I might just know a way how," Blackfire smiled, content with her evil plan. Starfire looked at her sister and mimicked Blakfire's sly smile. Starfire was VERY glad she had brought Blackfire in.

00000

"How long have they been in there? Blackfire's been here for a week and they barely come out of that room," Cyborg said as he drew a card from the board game, "Boo-yah! Who was the first to make it to King Kandy? Was it, Cyborg!"

"Wow! I never knew you could get so excited over Candy Land," exclaimed Aria as she brushed her hair out of her eyes. Robin looked at her. He felt like he was stuck in Molasses Swamp, just like his Candyland character. He didn't have the slightest clue what to do when it came to girls. Not only was he stuck in Molasses Swamp, he was drowning in it.

"Loser picks up and that would be you," Cyborg said, pointing to Robin, "But since I'm nice, I'll help ya."

All the other Titans got up and walked away. Cyborg glared at Robin with a smug smile on his face. Robin, confused, looked at Cyborg. "What are you smiling about?" asked Robin.

"Why don't you just talk to her! You can beat bad guys but you can't talk to a girl. You go talk to her right now!" Cyborg demanded, pointing in Aria' direction.

"No way! She probably wouldn't like me. I'm not good with rejection," Robin put the board back in the case and put the lid on the game.

"Tons of girls throw themselves at you all the time! Why do you think she'll be any different?"

"Cause," Robin paused, "cause she's different from other girls. That's why." He picked the game up and put it back. He glanced over at Aria, Beast Boy and Raven. Beast Boy was doing some stupid trick to try and make Raven laugh. Aria was giggling at Beast Boy's attempt.

"Here's the deal, we play rock, paper scissors shoot. If I win, you go talk to her. If you win, I leave you alone," Cyborg challenged. He had his hand clenched in the ready position for the game. Robin looked at Cyborg like he was crazy. No way was he going to decide this over a game. "Fine," said Cyborg, "Guess you're scared of a challenge. I understand, I beat you in Candyland so you're scared to face me in this. It's o…"

"You're on!" exclaimed Robin. "Ready? Rock, paper, scissors, shoot!" Robin kept his fist clenched. Rock. However, Cyborg had his hand flat open. Paper.

"Boo-yah! Paper covers rock and you have to talk to Aria!" Cyborg gloated. Robin began to sweat a little. He tried to calm himself down as he went over to Aria. She was sitting on the kitchen counter, laughing at Beast Boy.

"Hey Aria, can I talk to you out on the roof?"

"Sure!" she replied. She jumped down off the counter and the two went on the roof of the Tower. "So," she said as she sat and dangled her feet over the Tower's edge, "what is it you wanted to talk to me about?"

"Well," Robin froze. He didn't know what to say, "well…just about your past some. Just wanted to ask you about your life back home…did you have a boyfriend?"

Aria dazed out at the night sky, lost in its vast expanse, "No. I didn't even have any friends. Remember?"

"Oh…yeah." Robin said. He scratched the back of his neck nervously.

"I've been meaning to talk to you about that. I wanted to talk to you about me going home and all. I've been thinking hard about this lately and I've decided that I don't want to go home. I want you guys to stop finding a way to send me home and let me stay here."

"But we almost found a way to send you home!" Robin exclaimed. Half of him was in shock and half of him was excited that she was staying.

"Yeah, it's just that I have nothing going for me back home. I wasn't the best student, I had no friends. Here I have a job…kinda…and I got you guys! I'd rather stay here…with you. Look, Beast Boy filled me in on you liking me and all."

"Beast Boy! How did he know? So…uh…um…"Robin tried to find the words to ask Aria on a date but couldn't spit them out. Aria could see he was shy and cut in.

"Do you wanna go to see a movie or something?" she asked.

"You have no idea how happy I am to hear you say that!" Robin said. His face was gleaming. Aria looked at him, smiling.

"But you have no idea how much I HATE hearing that!" a girl's voice said from behind them. Robin and Aria turned around to see Starfire and Blackfire standing there with a small ball, the size of a gumball in their hands.

"What?" Robin said stunned.

Starfire looked at Aria with an evil glare in her eye. "You can't have him! He's mine! You'll never get him! NEVER!" Starfire struck Aria with a bolt.

"Stafire stop! What are you doing?" Robin shouted. He leapt at Starfire to make her stop, but Blackfire was there with the re-bound. In one swift move Blackfire had handcuffed him to a nearby pole.

"Sorry Robin, but looks like your little girlfriend has to go," said Blackfire, "Starfire, now!" Then Blackfire and Starfire each threw their little balls into the air and struck them with a bolt. The two small balls opened up into a mass vortex. The vortex began to suck in Aria.

"No! Stop it!" shouted Aria. She clawed at anything she could.

"Give me your hand!" instructed Robin. Aria reached for him and clenched his hand. Starfire struck bolt at their hands. Both of them recoiled in pain.

"Robin! Robiiiin!" Aria screamed as she was sucked in to the vortex.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9 

Aria was spinning uncontrollably. She was being tossed about and couldn't tell what was up and what was down. The vortex was windy and loud. It was like she had been sucked into a tornado. Then everything stopped and was quite. Aria was lying face down on the floor. She began to climb to her knees, scared to look where she was. She finally found the courage to open her eyes. She was in a living room. She looked straight ahead at the TV in front of her. Everything was no longer a cartoon. Everything was real. At least she thought it was real. Aria had been in the show so long that she no longer knew fake from reality. She looked around more and recognized the room that she was in. It was her living room. She was back in her Aunt and Uncle's house. She began to wonder to herself. Was it even real? Could she just be dreaming? She turned on the TV to cartoon network. A show was on. Totally Spies. What had happened? Aria began to wonder if she was crazy. No way any of that could have happened. Aria convinced herself that it was all just a dream. Then a lock of her hair fell down into her eyes. It was a deep purple. Aria ran to a mirror. Her eyes were still yellow. Aria held out her arm, palm up, she created a fireball. She still had her powers. So it had been real. The other dimension, the vortex, the Titans. Everything had happened. Aria sat on the floor. She buried her head in her hands. Tears began to overflow down her face. She cried for many things. She cried for her friends, back in the other dimension. How she missed them and realized how much she loved all of them, even if one of them had gotten rid of her. Aria wiped her tears. She knew she had to be strong and find a way back before anyone knew she had returned. But she didn't even know where to start. Then she remembered her communicator! She pulled it out but before she could call anyone, the door opened.

"Aria! Is that you! Thank heavens! Where have you been?" Cried her Aunt. Aria shoved the communicator back in her pocket and hugged her Aunt.

"What happened to you? What are you wearing and why are your hair and eyes different colors?"

"Now Jim, I'm sure she's had quite the ordeal. Let's make some tea and let her tell us everything. Aria's Aunt draped her arm over Aria's shoulder and escorted her to the kitchen. Aria knew she had to lie to her Aunt and Uncle about what had happened. There was no way that anyone would believe her. Aria's Aunt, Mariel, made a pot of tea and set it on the table while they talked.

"Well, Stuart went off to change and then this man came into the house and kidnapped me! I've been kept in his basement ever since. He made me dye my hair and gave me these to wear. I think they're a Halloween costume," Aria lied. She figured that making up a criminal would be the best idea. Even though the police would be looking for an imaginary suspect it was a good thing because it might get the police out of the Donut Shop and out looking for bad guys.

"We need to report this right away!" yelled her Uncle in rage.

"I would like to be alone for a while. My kidnapper never let me sleep so may I go to my room?" asked Aria, pretending to yawn.

"Yes, of course. We won't let anyone bother you," confirmed her Aunt. Good, thought Aria. Now she could try to find a way to get in contact with the Titans. Aria went to her room and shut the door behind her. Looking around her room, she felt like she was back in Titan's Tower. The Titans had modeled her room at the Tower after the one she was standing in right now. The only thing missing was the pictures she had taken of her friends back in the other dimension. She changed into some comfy PJs and neatly laid her Titan's outfit on the dresser. Aria pulled the communicator off her pant's waistband.

"Titans, calling Titans," Aria called into the yellow speaker. There was no response.

"Titans, calling Titans," she tried again. No answer. Then Aria noticed the antenna. It was severely bent. Aria knew she had to fix it. It would take a few days to get the wiring back in place, but Cyborg had taught her a few things about electronics and Aria was pretty confident that she could fix it. Aria lay on her bed and stared at the ceiling. She began to think of her mom. She remembered the few happy times that she shared with her. All the other ones were filled with pain from her father. Aria's pain began to turn to anger and hate. How she hated her Dad. She could go kill him right now if she wanted. No, he would have a much harder time suffering in jail. Aria's thoughts drifted from her father to the Titans. She thought of Robin and the last few words he had said to her. She couldn't believe that he liked her back. But Starfire. Aria knew that she had to drown the feelings she had for him and hopefully he would do the same. Then, Aria heard a knock on her door.

"Who is it?" she called.

The door opened and her Aunt stuck her head in the door.

"It's me. Your Uncle and I were talking and we have agreed that you need to be getting back to normal life as soon as possible. I know it'll be tough but you need to go back to school tomorrow," replied her Aunt. Aria didn't like the sound of that. Aria hated school. No one liked her there. But she had no choice.

"Ok," she replied.

"Stuart's back from his Boy Scout trip and is in the living room. He would like to see you."

"Alright," Aria got up from her bed and walked into the living room. Stuart was watching TV. Commercials were on.

"Hey there big guy!" Aria said as she tousled Stuart's hair. Aria looked up at her wide-eyed.

"Aria! I missed you! You look different. You look like…"

"What? I look like what?"

"A new character on the show I watch. You told me not to talk with you about it. You said it was dumb," Stuart said, as he looked down at the ground, ashamed.

"What? The Teen Titans? Stuart, you can watch any show you want! And I'll watch it with you. If you want to be a ninja like Robin, then start training!" Aria took Stuart in her arms. He looked up at her with bright eyes.

"Really! Then I can tell you all about the new Titan! She's gonna be on the new episodes in a week! She can use fire and is really cool! You look just like her!" Stuart was bouncing on the cochins now, "Look, here's a preview!" Stuart plopped down next to Aria and they watched the preview. Aria smiled. There she was, shooting fire and fighting bad guys. The preview ended and Teen Titans came on. She sat there next to Stuart, watching her five friends fight bad guys and save the day.

"No what would be cool?" asked Stuart.

"What?"

"If we could go into the TV and become a Teen Titan!"

"Yeah…" Aria said, "That would be pretty cool," she answered as she looked at her friend's smiling faces as they ate a pizza. She wiped her cheek before Stuart noticed the tear running down.

00000

Robin tilted his head back against the pole he was bound against. Starfire floated in the air and slowly came back down to the ground. She dropped to her knees.

"What have I done?" she uttered in disbelief.

"You needed to learn to stick up for yourself. You did the right thing," her sister assured her.

"No! I am wrong! I did something evil!" Starfire said as she began to cry, "Aria was my friend and I betrayed her! I sent her back to the world she did not want to return to!"

Robin looked up at Starfire. She was truly sorry. But she had gotten rid of Aria. She had attacked a Teen Titan. That was a crime deserving of jail! Robin was both sympathetic and angry towards Starfire.

"Starfire," he said, "You attacked a Titan and got rid of her. You know that's a crime deserving of jail! If you don't find a way to bring her back then you know we'll have to imprison you!"

"No way!" a voice said. It was Cyborg and Raven and Beast Boy were right behind him. They had heard enough to know Aria was gone and that Starfire had done it.

"Yes, I know. Arrest me if you must," she said, head lowered, as she held out her hands. Cyborg put a pair of handcuffs on them. Raven set Robin free. Robin leapt up and jumped after Blackfire, who had begun to sneak away.

"You're not getting away so easily!" Robin shouted.

"Ha! Watch me!" Blackfire began to fly away. Robin jumped after her and tackled her to the ground.

"You are going to pay for what you did to Aria!" he yelled at her. Blackfire looked at him terrified.

"Ok! Ok! Just don't hurt me!" Blackfire begged. Robin didn't let go of her. He growled back at her, ready to attack.

"Dude, chill out. She surrendered. Let's cuff her and go," said Beast Boy.

"Fine," Robin said and threw Blackfire at Beast Boy and everyone else. He turned and walked back to the elevator.

3 days went by and no one dared talk to Robin. Everyone went about their business. It was weird only having 4 Titans in the tower. They didn't even get any calls. No bank robberies, no carjacking, no nothing. Beast Boy was standing in front of the TV, trying to balance a broom on his nose, when an alert came in from a communicator. _Starfire?_ He didn't want to pick it up without the rest of the team there. He ran and got everyone.

"This better be good, Beast Boy," said Robin, as Beast Boy drug him in by his arm. Robin looked at the screen and gasped. It was Aria.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter 10

Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy and Raven stood staring at the screen in shock.

Cyborg finally spoke up, "How are you talking to us?

"The Communicator. I just had to fix it for a few days."

"…and it works going through other dimensions?"

"Yep," replied Aria, nodding.

"Alright! That's Cyborg technology right there! Boo-yah!"

Robin interrupted, "Actually, I made the communicator."

"No you didn't! That's way to complicated for you to make!" yelled Cyborg back, angry that Robin would take credit for HIS work.

"NO! If you made it, it would probably be blue, since pretty much everything you make IS blue!" defended Robin.

Cyborg shot back, "You're just can't get it through your spiky little head that I can make things that work through other dimensions!" Aria, Beast Boy and Raven had been watching in confusion.

Raven finally interrupted, "Who cares who made it! All that matters is it works and we can communicate with Aria," Raven mumbled under her breath, "Guys and their egos…"

"Where's Starfire?" asked Aria.

All the Titans looked a little surprised, "She's in jail. She sent you back and you're worried about her?" questioned Robin.

"She's my friend! I forgive her for what she did. Blackfire must have gotten to her head or something."

Robin hung his head in shame, "Well, Starfire was sorry for what she did. I can't believe I was willing to send her to jail. I wasn't able tot forgive her."

Cyborg rested his hand on Robin's shoulder in reassurance, "Hey man, it's never to late to forgive."

Beast Boy cut in, "Plus! If Star knew a way to send Aria back to the dimension, then maybe she can bring her back here."

"For once, the moron has a good idea!" Raven said, sarcastically. Beast Boy gave her a dirty look.

"Yeah, let's do it. I have to go to school now…yay. You guys work on bringing me back and I'll wait here. Call me on the communicator anytime. Titan out." Aria hung up the communicator and walked out the door. She grimaced as the school bus took the corner, picked her up and took her to her doom. As soon as Aria got on, she got stares. Stares of confusion, stares of pity and stared of disgust. Mostly stares of disgust. She could hear people whispering.

"Look at her! She disappears for weeks and comes back looking like THAT. I bet she's just doing it for the attention. I bet she faked the whole thing." Aria cradled her books, trying to find some comfort and protection from them. She sat in her own bench and looked out the window the whole ride to school. When the bus got to school she loaded off and walked up to the entrance doors. She walked into the hallway and went to her locker. As she was getting the necessary books, I binder got thrown at her head.

"Well look who finally showed up at school. Almost didn't recognize you there!" It was Heather, the girl who had made Aria's life a living hell since she had first come to this school. She was blond, pretty, popular, rich and captain of the cheerleading squad. Heather wasn't alone either. She never was. She always had her group of cheerleaders right next to her. Aria closed her locker and started walking to class. She didn't have time to put up with this. Heather followed her, "Yeah, just run away. Like you always do. Run away, scared and find comfort in the safety of your classroom. Fine, I'll be waiting for you after school on the bus. This will continue." Heather snapped her fingers and the cheerleading squad followed her down the hall. Aria went through school all day. It hadn't change. Everyone still ignored her and made fun of her. She ate alone in the cafeteria. As the final school bell rang, Aria gathered her courage. Heather was waiting for her on the bus.

"Come sit with me! I saved a seat for you," she beckoned as she patted the empty seat next to her. Aria walked right passed her and sat in the back.

"Hey! If I tell you to sit, you sit!" Heather roared. She got up and stood in front of Aria.

"Yeah, and if I tell YOU to sit, you do! Maybe you just didn't hear me the first time. Now sit!" Heather and Aria looked at the front to see a man holding a gun. He had it pointed at them. Heather sat down.

"Hello, ladies and gentlemen. Me and my band of merry-men will be your tour guides for today. I hope you all will enjoy the ride and don't do anything or we'll shoot some lead right through your head. Got it? Bus Driver, drive us to the middle of the country. We have a surprise for all of you," the man pressed his gun to the driver's head and the driver took off. Aria counted how many guys there were. She counted 5 all together and each had a gun. Aria could save herself right now. Why save the lives of the people who hated her and tormented her day and night. Aria looked around at the faces. They were of pure terror. People were crying. Aria looked at Heather. Heather was fidgeting with her purse. She pulled out a phone. Bad idea, thought Aria. She watched as Heather dialed 911. One of the guys spotted her.

"Hey! None of that!" He shot Heather on the chest. She cried out in pain. She collapsed in her bench and blood began to flood out. Heather lost consciousness. Aria knew she could save her, but a big part of her didn't want to. Then she remembered something, she was a Titan. She knew she had to save Heather. She found the wound and applied pressure but the bleeding was too strong.

"What are you doing? You're going to kill her, aren't you!" One of Heather's cheer buddies cried.

"No, I'm not! Just shut-up and let me do my job! I know what I'm doing." Aria needed some way to plug up the artery and stop the bleeding. Then she had an idea. She could burn the wound shut! Aria made a little flame and began to close the wound. The bleeding stopped. Aria checked Heather's pulse and it was growing stronger. Color was returning back to her face.

Aria looked up at the cheerleader, "It's best to let them think she's dead. You got it?" The cheerleader looked at her and nodded weakly. Aria laid Heather on the floor. Things were getting out of hand. The hijackers had taken them out to the country. There was no one around and anything could happen. Aria knew she was the only chance they had. Aria looked under the seats. She saw the shoes and legs of the 5 hijackers. They were all standing together in a group. Aria quickly a stream of fire at their legs. Their pants quickly consumed in fire. It distracted them as they all tried to stomp out their inflamed legs. Aria jumped up and ran to the front of the bus. The men were so distracted that they didn't see her coming. She punched one and used her momentum to swing her leg around and kick another. Two of them jumped at her but she quickly dodged and retaliated. She knocked the guns out of all their hands and threw them out the window. She kicked one so hard that he went flying out the windshield. 1 down, 4 to go. She opened the bus door and stood in front of it. One ran at her, but she moved out of the way as he flew out the bus. Another one bites the dust. The three came at her all at once. One grabbed her and had her in an arm lock. The other two came at her. She used the arm lock as an advantage and swung her feet up, kicking one square in the jaw. The other guy delivered a punch but Aria moved her head and he ended up decking his buddy instead of her. So there was only one left. He had a crazed look on his face as he pulled out a knife. He began to charge after Aria but she dodged it easily. She grabbed his arm and twisted it. He cried out in pain but quickly pulled his arm back. Aria went to kick him but her feet had somehow gotten jammed into the driver's seat. She tried to pull it out but couldn't. The hijacker came at Aria and kept delivering blows. Aria blocked all of them but didn't know how long she could keep it up. She couldn't use her firepowers. It's just not natural to be able to shoot fire from you're hands. Then the attacker paused. His face became dazed and he collapsed unconscious to the ground. Standing behind him was Heather. She had her purse dangling at her side. She looked at Aria and smiled. Aria couldn't help but smile back. She put her hand in the driver's seat cushion and melted whatever was inside, releasing her leg. Heather held out her hand and pulled her up.

00000

The bus pulled into the school and everyone's parents came rushing out. They embraced their children as they came off the bus. Aria hugged her Aunt and Uncle and Stuart. Aria got a tap on her shoulder. She turned around and looked at Heather.

"Look…I'm sorry for all the years I made fun of you. I don't know why I did it. Mainly cause I was threatened by you and knew I had to keep you in your place. I'm REALLY sorry."

"So, it took something heroic to change your mind about me?" Aria teased and smiled.

"Pretty much! My mom always made me carry a brick in my purse for self-defense. I knew it would come in handy some day! Hey, and thanks. You saved my life even though I was always mean to you. I would never be able to do that."

"No problem."

"If there's anyway I could repay you…"

"Just one thing," Aria interrupted, "Don't ever make fun of me again."

"Are you serious! I have to make fun of you! You're such a loser! Just playing! Want to go get ice cream or something?"

"Yeah…" Aria's communicator went off, "Just, hang on for one second." Aria turned around and picked up the communicator.

"Hey, guys. What's up?"

"We know how to get you back," answered Robin.

Beast Boy did the introductions, "Aria, meet Larry!"


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

"Hi there!" A little goofy looking version of Robin appeared on the communicator. He had little buckteeth and never stopped smiling. His round cheeks were dabbed with a few freckles. He wore his Robin costume proudly. "I'm the one who's going to rescue you from there! I'm Larry and…" Just then Aria heard a light gasp. She looked up and saw Stuart looking at her. His mouth was wide open. He was obviously in shock. Aria quickly turned off the communicator and held it behind her back.

"I knew it!" Stuart began. "Mom told me that it wasn't you and that I was being silly but it is you! You are the new character on Teen Titans!"

Aria began to panic. She didn't want anyone knowing that about her. Bad things would happen if people knew she had powers. It's not like Spiderman and Superman. People don't glorify powers like that. They would just think you're plain weird and make you the newest edition to the science fair. Aria was no science project.

"No I'm not! That insane! No one can go in the TV," Aria responded. The panic was obvious in her voice. Stuart stepped closer. He tried to peer around Aria and look at what she was holding but Aria blocked his view with her body. Stuart faked her out and got a look at the communicator.

"Yeah you are! I see the communicator," just then it turned on. Robin could be heard on the other end, " Robin! Is that Robin! Let me talk to him! Please!" Aria knew she couldn't hide it any longer. Stuart knew and it had to stay that way.

"Fine, you're right. I am the newest Titan. But listen to me," Aria looked at Stuart sternly. He finally calmed down and looked back at her. The excitement was still obvious in his eyes, "you can't tell ANYONE! Not even your pet hamster."

Stuart nodded his head, "I promise. What can you do? Can you show me something? Please!" Aria held out her hand palm up and created a fireball. Stuart's eyes grew to the size of melons. "WOO! That was amazing!" He shouted while clapping his hands.

Aria pulled the communicator from behind her back, "This is the communicator. Robin's on the other end right now if you want to talk to him."

Stuart fumbled for it. He looked into the screen. Robin was looking back at him.

Robin was a little shocked but spoke up anyways, "Hey, who are you?" he questioned in a friendly voice.

"I'm Stuart, Aria's little brother! I know who you are! You're Robin! You're my hero!"

"Wow! That's cool! Do you do karate? You should!"

"Yeah, I do! I'm gonna be just as good as you some day!"

Aria couldn't help but smile. She had never seen Stuart so happy. Robin was doing great with him. "Maybe we could have a match one day. I would love to talk to you more but I have some important matters to talk with Aria about. Boring stuff, but it was cool meeting you. Maybe we could talk again some time."

"Yeah! I'll give the communicator to Aria now. Bye Robin!" Stuart had a smile on his face as big as the Grand Canyon. Nothing could hurt his day now. He gave the communicator back to Aria.

"So, what's the plan?" she asked Robin.

"Ok, this is Larry. He can transport people through dimensions. He's gonna get you back here." Robin confirmed.

"Wait a second! I know about Larry. I know he likes to help but I remember him sending you to some dimension. I dunno about this." Aria looked a little worried. Larry had a reputation for messing things up. "Plus," she added, " I can't just disappear again. My aunt and uncle would be worried sick! What should I do about them?"

"Tell them the truth. Call us back when you're ready to come through." Robin hung up. Aria stood frozen for a bit. No way could she tell the truth. It's just too weird. Stuart appeared over Arias' shoulder.

"He's right you know," he chimed in. Aria looked at him and gave him a little look.

"Don't make me turn you into a piece of toast," Aria threatened. Stuart jumped down and Aria tackled him. She tickled him.

"No! Don't burn me!" Stuart laughed, knowing it was all a joke. Aria made a small flame. They played for a few more minutes and Aria eventually let him up.

"I better go talk to the parental units shouldn't I? Let's just get this over with so I can get back to the Titans as soon as possible," Aria sighed. Stuart was sitting next to Aria and looked up at her. He had a sad look on his face. He then looked back down at the carpet and started to fiddle with his shoelaces.

"Does this mean you don't want to live here anymore? Do you not like us?" he questioned. Aria was taken aback by the question. She hadn't really thought about it. She hadn't ever thought of whom she was hurting by leaving and going back to the Titans.

"No! I love you and everyone here but I have a job to do now. I'm a superhero." The words felt strange in Aria's mouth. Stuart stood up and wrapped his arms around Aria's neck. Aria felt her eyes begin to water but held it back.

"I'm going to miss you. I'll watch you everyday on TV," Stuart muffled into her hair. Aria embraced Stuart. She suddenly had a good idea.

"Here, take this," she said as she pulled out her communicator. Stuart fumbled with it. His eyes grew big as he took in what had just happened. He basked in the radiance of the yellow device. He looked back up at Aria. "You mean I can really have it!"

Aria smiled, "Yep. That way, we can talk whenever you want. I need to call the Titans soon though. I know Aunt and Uncle won't believe me so I need you to tell them and show them the new episodes. Then maybe they'll believe us, ok. But right now I need to call the Titans. I need to get back there." Stuart nodded his head in agreement and handed the communicator back to Aria so she could call the Titans. Aria pressed the button and someone picked up.

"Hiiii there! I'm Larry and I'm going to get you back! Just hold and I'll open up the Larry's Dimension Traveling Tunnel of Wonder!" Aria gave the communicator back to Stuart and gave him one final hug. A spiral appeared in the middle of the room. Aria and Stuart stood back and gazed at the soft purple fog, twisting in a circular motion. Aria walked toward the vortex and before entering turned around and looked at Stuart. He smiled and waved as Aria gave him a "here I go" look. She stepped into the vortex and was immediately engulfed by the overwhelming fog and wind. It was like being inside a tornado as she was thrown all over, being sucked deeper and deeper into the vortex. A sudden overwhelming, white light flashed and Aria fell with a thud. She looked up and saw a small buck-toothed version of Robin staring back at her.

"Yay! Larry did good! And I didn't mess up! I've practiced." Aria looked around and all the Titans were there. She relished the feeling of being back in her home. She stared out the window at the city she vowed to protect. Aria then jumped up and encircled them all in a big hug.

"Good to have you home!" Robin said. Aria looked around but still saw no trace of Starfire.

"Is Starfire still in prison?" Aria asked

"Yeah, we weren't able to convince the jury to release her," Cyborg solemnly replied.

"Well, then we'll have to break her out. But first I have some important matters I really need to discuss with you Robin," Aria gulped at the fact she would have to possibly hurt one of her closest friends.

"Yeah, what's up?" He asked as they walked into the hallway for some privacy.

"It's about what I said the day I got sent back home. I realized that I can't like you. I've been thinking about it a lot lately and it's just too weird. We all live under the same roof and it's kinda weird. Plus, I guess I got mixed up feelings and I actually don't like you like that. I'm sorry…" Aria trailed off. There was an awkward silence. Robin looked at the floor. Aria waited for his reply as she listened to the buzz of the overhead lights and the blowing of the air-conditioner. Finally Robin spoke up.

"You know…you're right! I kinda feel the same way. It's weird in a way but I actually don't like you like that. It's more of just really good friends, just like everyone else and that's how it should be."

Aria relaxed at the relief. So did Robin. They both knew that feelings of amore just couldn't be when it came to good friends. It didn't mean they stopped caring for each other, just not in a romantic way. "So," Aria added, "Let's go break Starfire out of jail!" Robin and Aria ran and got BB, Cyborg and Raven. They went to the prison and stood on the roof above Raven's cell. Raven turned into a dark, rigged bird and went through the roof. She enveloped Starfire and went right back through the roof again. The Titans went and picked up some pizza before heading home. Once they got home they sat around and talked for hours while savoring the cheesy concoction. Aria told them about making peace back home and Starfire told her adventures of jail. Beast Boy did impersonations, bad ones might I add and Cyborg joked about anything and everything. Raven and Robin both sat there, laughing along with every story. They laughed and talked until they could laugh and talk no more. They fell asleep sprawled across on the floor and completely happy. They were also completely unaware. Unaware of the mysterious envelope that slid under the Tower's door.


End file.
